Sep 23, 2013

04:31 AM

A Taste of Honey in a Talk Thursday at the Library in Fairfield

Cathy P. Ross

courtesy of Red Bee, LLC

“You haven’t lived until you’ve had fresh honeycomb,” says beekeeper and honey sommelier Marina Marcheseduring a honey tasting I recently participated in at her Red Bee Apiary in Weston. Set before me were seven flights of light-to-intensely flavored honey, accompanied by a beautiful palette of cheeses and breads to pair with each. We dipped small spoons in one at a time, held our noses (so scent wouldn’t interfere with taste) while we licked the sweet stuff off the spoon, and then breathed. Each was judged on color, aroma and flavor, much like fine wine. We then tasted the honey with the food. It was simply divine.
Marchese had her first taste of honey from a hive 15 years ago, and it transformed her life. “It was just the freshest and most delicious thing I’d ever had,” she says. Not long after, she set up a hive in her backyard. “One thing led to another and it just snowballed,” she says. “Now we are selling to shops and restaurants and we ship honey all over the country. We cater to foodies looking for a unique food experience.”
Honey became her busines after she attended the National Honey Show in London. Marina completed courses in the Sensory Analysis of Tasting Honey in Guspini, Italy; Honey Judging at the University of Georgia and The American Apitherapy Society. She began to learn about every aspect of its production as well as its medicinal properties and travels around the world to continue her studies in honey production and its uses. She also offers a honey certification course for chefs, who swarm her with requests for honey/food pairing suggestions.

Marchese has also written books on the topic—Honeybee: Lessons from an Accidental Beekeeper, and her latest, The Honey Connoisseur (Black Dog & Leventhal), co-written with Kim Flottum, which was published in July. On Sept. 26, she will talk about honey and sign copies of her book at the Fairfield Woods Branch Library. And after the talk, she'll present a honey tasting. Red Bee Honey will also be available for purchase.
Give it a try; it just might make your life sweeter, too.Registration is required. To register, call 203/255-7308 or visit fairfieldpubliclibrary.orgorredbee.com.